Warning: Spoilers ahead for Gilmore Girls!
Arguably, one of the most interesting aspects ofGilmore Girlsis the show’s portrayal of life’s complicated and nuanced decisions.Gilmore Girlsis brimming with significant life events for all its major characters. The show’s story offers a series of broken engagements, cheating scandals, last-minute college decisions, and more, that all impact the show’s conclusion. Some of these choices were made as a result of years of character development, whereas others were just mistakes made out of pure impulse.
Upon my annualrewatch ofGilmore Girls, I cannot help but wonder about some of these moments inGilmore Girls’seven-season run, given that some easily could have been avoided. Had other decisions been made, certain characters inGilmore Girlscould have led very different lives, creating all sorts of interesting, what-if scenarios.
For Rory’s Entire Life, She Wanted To Go To Harvard
If Rory Gilmore went to Harvard University, her dream school for her entire life, her arc as a character in the show would have looked a lot different. Had Rory gone to Harvard, she would never have developed her close friendship with Paris Gellar (Liza Weil) after high school. She also would never have met her final boyfriendLogan, who she is still involved with years later inGilmore Girls: A Year In The Life. While Yale gave Rory two deeply important relationships, it also altered the course of her life in a potentially negative way.
Logan Huntzberger’s father, Mitchum, is a powerful media mogul who gives Rory a local internship after learning of her journalistic aspirations. Despite giving her this opportunity, he also told her that she"just didn’t have it"to make a career in journalism. Had she not gone to Yale and dated Logan,I think Rory could have pushed her journalism career further at Harvard separate from family influence, and without Mitchum’s harsh criticism. At the same time, without Rory at Yale, Paris may never have met Doyle, who she later marries, and Logan Huntzberger could have become a lifelong playboy.
9When Lorelai Almost Marries Max Medina
If Lorelai Married Max She Would Have Never Realized Her Feelings For Luke
Lorelai Gilmore dated Rory’s Chilton Academy teacher, Max Medina. When he initially proposes to her, in part out of jealousy over her friendship with Luke, Lorelai, in her typical fashion, dives into a wordy hyperbolic explanation of what a proper proposal should look like–including"a thousand yellow daisies.“To make up for his hasty proposal, Max literally places 1,000 yellow daisies around the town of Stars Hollow, including Lorelai’s workplace at the Independence Inn.
This grand gesture ultimately wins Lorelai over, and she accepts his proposal, but later abruptly breaks it off. While I thought this breakup was devastating, it also makes way for Lorelai’s strongest relationship on the show–her later romance with Luke Danes (Scott Patterson). Luke had long been an amazing friend to Lorelai and a father figure to Rory, and ifLorelai married Max she may never have found her way to Luke in the end.On Luke’s end, he might have remained in a loveless marriage with Nicole, or remained a solitary man living above his diner.
8When Christopher Goes Back To Sherry Because She Is Pregnant
Christopher Hayden, Rory’s fatherhas a complicated relationship with Lorelai. When Lorelai becomes pregnant with Rory, her family insist on supporting them as long as she marries Christopher. Feeling pressured, Lorelai flees to Stars Hollow, working her way up within the Independence Inn and finding a supportive community among the townspeople. The pair reunite in season 2 when Christopher vows to be a more present father to Rory, and his newfound commitment to getting his life in order attracts Lorelai.
As their relationship progresses, his ex-girlfriend Sherry calls Christopher while he is with Lorelai to let him know that she is pregnant. Regretting not raising Rory, Christopher immediately decides not to make the same mistake, and goes back to Sherry. Had Sherry not been pregnant,I still think Christopher and Lorelai would have been a bad match, despite their history.While Christopher and Lorelai briefly marry later in the show, I think a marriage at this point in the series would have resulted in a far more volatile and consequential breakup given that Rory was still in high school.
7When Jess Leaves For California
If Jess Stayed In Stars Hollow He Could’ve Ended Up With Rory, But With Less Character Development
Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia) arrives to Stars Hollow as a troubled teenager from New York City. His mother sends him to live with his uncle, Luke Danes, in the small town to straighten him out. Despite his rebellious tendencies, he is highly intelligent and shows literary prowess outside his poor attendance at school. His interest in literature and willingness to understand Rory are what attract her to him – while she is still dating her first boyfriend, Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki), causing their breakup.
After Rory begins a relationship with Jess, he is supportive of her Ivy League dreams and initially enjoys spending time with her. However, she quickly realizes that his lack of regard for his future and eventual lack of effort in their relationship is a dealbreaker. When Jess' father tracks him down to Stars Hollow, Jess leaves for California to get to know him, abandoning Rory on graduation day. Jess returns to Stars Hollow a year later to confess his feelings for Rory.
Had Jess not left for California, the pair could have ended up together, as Rory would not have pursued Logan at Yale instead, and the pair might have ended up on a similar emotional playing field. However,Jess' time in California also provided some much-needed character development, ashe returns to the East Coast years later as a published author with a stable life in Philadelphia.Had he never left, he would have remained profoundly emotionally immature and never realized his own dreams of becoming a writer, a trait that Rory retains due to her lack of perspective.
6When Logan Proposes To Rory Before Yale Graduation
When Rory and Logan are about to graduate from Yale and Logan has the opportunity to pursue his tech company in San Francisco, he proposes to Rory, and encourages her to join him in California to start her own career in journalism. Rory ultimately turns down the proposal, as she does not want to commit to anything post-grad and wants to have her career options"wide open"and untethered to Logan and his family.
As viewers learn fromA Year In The Life, Rory’s career is floundering and inconsistent, and she struggles to maintain meaningful relationships. Years down the line, she is still having an affair with Logan, despite his engagement to someone else. Had Rory accepted the proposal,I think she would have been more successful and lead a more fulfilling life.With Logan’s family connections and a change of scenery, Rory might have had a shot at the success that she always self-sabotages.
5When Luke Divorces Nicole
Luke Might Have Settled For Her
After having a neighborly dispute with the cantankerous town selectman Taylor Doosey, Doosey hires an attorney to settle it. That attorney is Nicole Leahy, who begins a relationship with Luke that ends in a drunken marriage on a cruise ship. While the couple attempt to make their relationship work, it is apparent thatLuke still loves Lorelai, and his marriage to Nicole ultimately crumbles when she cheats on him. If Nicole hadn’t cheated, I think Luke may have tried to stick it out with her due to his honor and his stubborn nature,which would have prevented him from ultimately finding happiness.
Had his character not gone through this divorce and realized what he actually wanted out of a relationship he had with Lorelai, the show’s most beloved couple would have never come to be.
Luke’s divorce was also another sign that his relationship with Lorelai, at that point platonic, was always paramount for him. Had his character not gone through this divorce and realized what he actually wanted out of a relationship he had with Lorelai, the show’s most beloved couple would have never come to be.
4If Lorelai Never Asked Her Parents To Finance Rory’s Chilton Tuition
The Friday Night Dinners Are One Of The Show’s Hallmarks
The show begins with Rory’s acceptance to the prestigious Chilton Academy, which has a hefty tuition price tag. Lorelai is only able to cover part of the tuition, and begrudgingly asks her parents to help with the cost.Lorelai has a complicated relationship with her parents, especially her mother, Emily (Kelly Bishop) who often expresses disappointment in Lorelai’s life choices, but Lorelai reaches out to them for Rory’s sake.
If Rory had stayed in public school, the show would have lacked a lot of character and plot development.A central part of the show is exploring the generational trauma of Lorelai’s teen pregnancy and the different life she hopes to give Rory, and the Chilton era of the show illustrates that. The show also would have lacked its infamous Friday night dinner scenes, which are often pivotal moments in the show’s plot and full of sharp dialogue.
3If Emily and Richard Never Got Back Together
The Pair Separate For A Brief Period
Emily and Richard briefly separate, which ultimately allows Emily to find her purpose after feeling so connected to Richard for her entire life. A breach of trust over a business decision coupled withEmily often feeling overlooked sparked some much-needed time apart. When the couple reunite and renew their vows, Rory is her grandfather’s best woman, where Logan Huntzberger is also present.
This wedding marked a pivotal moment in Rory’s relationship with Logan and a moment of growth for Emily and Richard.The couple’s reunion also made Richard’s death in the reunion all that much more devastating, but also created the beautiful conclusion that whilea large part of Emily was defined by her marriage, her purpose extends far beyond.Had this separation period and subsequent renewal of vows never occurred, the storyline of the strength of the women of the Gilmore family would not have packed as much of a punch.
2If Dean Never Married Lindsay
Dean Might Have Held Rory Back From Her Aspirations
Dean never understood Rory’s academic pursuits as much as her other boyfriends did, and theirbreakup in the wake of Jess was a blessing in disguise. Dean then marries his high school girlfriend Lindsay (Arielle Kebbel) at a very young age, and proceeds to cheat on her with Rory, who he never really got over. In the process, they both brutally hurt Lindsay, who discovers their affair in a public way that the entire town knows about.
At the same time, had Dean never married Lindsay, there is a chance Rory would have stayed with him andnever pursued her dreams because of his fragile masculinity and jealousy issues.While Rory was also involved in the affair, Dean’s emotional immaturity far outweighed Rory’s, and I think their relationship would have taken a great toll on her life. Rory always had aspirations of finding a life partner to support her lofty visions for her future, and Dean would not have been that person.
1If Jess Never Came To Visit Rory Years Later
Jess Encourages Rory To Return To Yale After Taking A Leave Of Absence
When Rory steals a yacht with Logan on a bender after Mitchum’s harsh journalism criticism, she takes a leave of absence from Yale to complete her court-ordered community service. During this time, Rory goes to live with her grandparents in Hartford, where she assists Emily with her Daughers of the Revolution (DAR) events and continues to date Logan. During this period in which Rory loses herself,Jess returns to Connecticut to pay Rory a visit while he is in town to see his Uncle Luke. Jess appears much more grown up than when he left Stars Hollow.
As he always supported Rory’s academic endeavors, he is shocked and upset that Rory has dropped out of Yale and is dating Logan, who lets his ego get the best of him upon meeting Jess. In the famous dinner scene, Jess delivers a now highly quotable monologue.
I think that if Jess did not swoop in to snap Rory out of it at that moment inGilmore Girls,she might have given up entirely.Rory has a history of struggling to handle criticism about herself, but Jess remains the only person to get through to her, making this moment a major turning point in the series.
Gilmore Girls
Cast
In the fictional town of Star’s Hollow, single mother Lorelai Gilmore raises her high-achieving teenage daughter Rory. Mother and daughter rely on each other throughout their own life changes, romantic entanglements, and friendships.
